elska YOKOHAMA japan

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This edition was made in Yokohama, a city located only an hour from Tokyo but with a completely different feel to that of the capital. Yokohama is actually Japan's second biggest city (no, it's not Osaka), and we were excited to explore it along with several local boys who we photographed around town and in their homes.

This is our second edition shot in Asia following our successful, if controversial, Taipei issue. But despite being on the same continent, these two cities are worlds apart. For one thing, there is an attention to aesthetics in Yokohama that Taipei lacked - think clean and thoughtful versus chaotic and utilitarian. But beyond their façades, it was culture where things really diverged. While there are aspects of Japanese life that are fast-paced, ultra-modern and forward-thinking, there is a very conservative and rigid side too. It's also a society that is almost impenetrable... even a couple of our expat Yokohama boys discussed their bewilderment and even loneliness being non-Japanese in Japan.

Indeed Yokohama was actually a very multicultural city, more than we'd expected before arriving. Inside this issue, beyond the native Japanese men, you'll meet expats from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and also an American lad (and complete Japanophile) stationed at the nearby Yokosuka U.S Naval Base.

Then, in our Elska Dehors series, you'll meet three more men from beyond Yokohama. One was shot in Takamatsu, Japan, by Łukasz Rusznica; another in Rio de Janeiro by Lauro Justino; and a third from Brooklyn by Benjamin Fredrickson. These three photo-artists have long been on our radar and we're happy to showcase some of their work here.

160 pages, including texts in English, Japanese and Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Polish (all with English translations)